Rachmaninov – Vocalise for Brass Septet

Description

Rachmaninov’s Vocalise is one of his most celebrated pieces. The last of the 1912 set of Fourteen Songs, it is unusual because it is wordless: sung to a vowel of the singer’s choice, it uses the voice as an instrument. For this reason, and because of its typical lyricism and sumptuous late-Romantic harmony, it has inspired many arrangements—for solo instruments, chamber ensembles, and (by Rachmaninov himself) for orchestra. This version features not one soloist, but four: the first section split between two trumpets, and the second between two trombones, with the remainder of the septet cup-muted for the piano accompaniment.